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Last day of school 2004

Posted by Fred Steiner on June 14, 2021 - 10:27am

On the final day of school in 2004 Phil Zimmerly, at the time a bus driver for Buckeye Charter, drove his sister and a group of her friends to the Bluffton Dairy Freeze as an end-of-school treat.

We found this photo is a box of miscellanous Blufffton photos. 

From left, Elvira Tatarkov, Lauren Kenoyer, Meredith Bixel, Katlyn Sheridan, Ashton Cluts, Amber Risner, Andrea Spallinger and Brittany Spence. This was the end of 5th grade for these girls.

 

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Historical Bluffton
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Elm Center country school 1916-17

Posted by Fred Steiner on June 7, 2021 - 11:00am

Here is a photograph of students who attended the Elm Center country school in 1916-17.

This school was located between Bluffton and Pandora. Today it would be in the Pandora-Gilboa school district. When this photo was taken each of the students spoke Swiss dialect at home, and English in school.

The teacher is Millen Geiger.

Front row from left, Ralph Diller, Monroe Hilty, Melvin Bucher, Ben Burry, Leonard Badertscher and Vilas Burry.

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Historical Bluffton
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1950s heavy snowfall

Posted by Fred Steiner on May 24, 2021 - 9:55am

Just to remind viewers what the aftermath of a heavy winter storm leaves on Main Street, here are two Bluffton winter scenes from the 1950s.

Paul Diller took the photos. The photo above shows the Edelweiss Restaurant with a Basinger Furniture billboard on the wall.

Today Edelweiss Restaurant is Ellerbrock Spine and Soft Tissue office, 120 N. Main St. In place of the Basinger billboard is the Oscar Velasquez Main Street mural. 

And, today, Basinger Furniture is The Black Lab. What's missing from this photo? The awning over the Main Street sidewalk.

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Blue ribbons, red ribbons and white ribbons

Posted by Fred Steiner on May 10, 2021 - 2:04pm

It's Founders Hall at Bluffton College in the 1950s. You are viewing the Bluffton Men's Garden Club annual flower show. If you look close enough Kermit Herr is probably somewhere in the crowd.

During its day, this annual show could rival the entries in the Allen County Fair flower show.

Paul Diller took this photo and Jim Diller shares it with the Icon.

Several things to notice, changed from today:

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Historical Bluffton
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This was at one time Bluffton's largest employer

Posted by Fred Steiner on May 3, 2021 - 9:25am

When this photo was taken, the Triplett Corp. was Bluffton's largest employer. Here are two photos of the plant located along Harmon Road, which is today owned by Diamond Manufacturing.

Several sections, including the front office no long exists.

The aeral view was taken in 1936. A closer look above the treetops reveals the English Lutheran church steeple and the Bluffton elementary belfry. The large smokestack in the center of the skyline in the 1911 Bluffton High School building,
 

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Mid-1950s trout derby

Posted by Fred Steiner on April 26, 2021 - 10:57am

Bluffton's 77th trout derby is May 2. Here's glance at a much earlier derby. We're guessing it's the early to mid-1950s. We base that upon the boy on the bottom left – thinking that's David Little (1959 BHS grad).

Of course, that's Arden Baker standing at the microphone and by the looks of things the happy person next to him, who we do not know, appears to be hold a very large pickerel, which was stocked in the quarry during this era.

This photo was taken by Paul Diller and is from the Jim Diller collection.

 

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